Embodiments relate to a robot cleaner which perform cleaning while moving by oneself.
In general, cleaners are devices that suck air containing dusts using a suction force generated by a suction motor mounted in a main body thereof to filter the dusts within the main body. Such a cleaner may be classified into a manual cleaner that is directly manipulated by a user and a robot cleaner that performs cleaning for oneself without being manipulated by the user.
A general robot cleaner uses a charged battery as a power source. The robot cleaner performs cleaning for oneself while moving along a bottom of an area to be cleaned according to an inputted program. Thus, the robot cleaner is being developed and used into various types in line with needs of modern man which pursues reduced cleaning time and convenience.
The robot cleaner includes a main body defining an outer appearance thereof and a duct container disposed inside the main body. Air sucked into the robot cleaner may be sucked into the duct container via a predetermined path. Here, the dusts may be filtered while passing through the duct container. Then, when the duct container is filled with some dusts, the user may empty the dust container to perform the cleaning.
In the robot cleaner according to a related art, there is a limitation that dusts stored within the duct container may be discharged in a path direction, i.e., may flow backward. Also, when the user empties the dust container, the dusts may be discharged into the outside to cause unsanitary environment.
Also, when the inside of the dust container is clogged with the dusts, the suction force of the suction motor may not be well transmitted into a surface to be cleaned (hereinafter, referred to as a cleaning surface) to reduce suction performance of the cleaner.